Finding Myself
by AuroraBorealis623
Summary: AU What if Lorelai had given Rory up for adoption and 16 years later Rory learned the truth?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize; if I did, do you think I'd be writing fanfiction? I only own the Masons and my plot idea…the WB and the creators of "Gilmore Girls" own everything else.

* * *

Lorelai Gilmore and Christopher Hayden sat on the stairs of the Gilmore House, listening to their parents argue below them. The two high school juniors had just told their parents that Lorelai was pregnant. Needless to say, Emily and Richard Gilmore, and Straub and Francine Hayden were not thrilled. 

"How can you even suggest that they keep that baby?" Straub yelled.

"Well, my daughter is not going to have an abortion!" Richard answered back in an uncharacteristic protective manner.

"That only leaves one option," Emily answered, trying to remain calm, "she will have to give the baby up for adoption."

The rest of the adults murmured their agreement, even Straub, who was beyond upset. Emily stood and walked towards the stairs, ready to call the teenagers downstairs.

"Christopher, Lorelai, come down here now!" Emily called up the stairs.

The two teenagers slowly descended the stairs, walking into the living room, as if they were attending their executions. Richard was standing in front the fireplace and Straub was pacing behind the couch. Emily was sitting on one end of the couch, looking as sophisticated as usual, and Francine was sitting on the other end of the couch, wringing her hands and looking like she would break at any moment.

Lorelai and Christopher took seats opposites their mothers.

"We have reached a decision," Emily began, before she was interrupted.

"Isn't it our decision to make?" Lorelai asked.

"Lorelai, you hold your tongue. You've gotten yourself into a big mess and you are fartoo young to get yourselves out of it!" Richard yelled at her impatiently.

Lorelai glared at the four adults around her, trying to make decisions for her.

"As I was saying, you will be giving the baby up for adoption. After that you will be continuing your studies, so that you can both grow up and have the life that you should have."

Lorelai just hung her head, and Christopher wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

* * *

The next nine months went by rather quickly for Christopher and Lorelai, who had been meeting with prospective families to adopt their baby. They finally decided on a nice, relatively young couple from Boston, who already had a 2-year old son. The Masons were very excited. Since they understood Lorelai's reservations at letting her baby go, they agreed to let Lorelai name the baby and to tell the baby of his or her adoption on his or her 16th birthday by giving the child a letter that Lorelai would write. 

It was the beginning of the 2nd week of October—October 8th to be exact—when Lorelai went into labor. She had been watching television in bed when she felt liquid dripping down her legs. Thinking at first she had wet the bed, she got up to go to the bathroom when she felt a horrible pain and she knew that it was a contraction.

Both of her parents were at work and wouldn't be home for another half an hour. Lorelai grabbed the bag she had packed and cautiously made her way down the stairs. She called out to the maid of the week, Gretchen to call a cab for her, and she left a note for her parents, telling them where she was and asking them to call Christopher and the Masons.

They were wheeling her into the delivery room when her parents showed up. Her mother was going on and on about being able to drive her daughter to the hospital and then she wanted to go into the delivery room with her, but luckily Lorelai, with the help of the nurses, was able to stop her.

After a long 16 hour labor, one that included Lorelai very drugged up on demurral, and throwing ice chips at the nurses, Lorelai gave one last push and there was cry of a baby that filled the room. The doctor told the room, "It's a girl!" and then cut the umbilical cord. Becky, the young nurse, placed the young girl in Lorelai's arms and asked for a name.

"I would like her to be 'Lorelai Leigh.' 'Rory' for short," Lorelai answered, looking down at her daughter, one last time, before Becky took Rory from her and took her to the nursery.

Later, after Lorelai had been moved into her own room and she was feeling up to it, her parents helped her walk to the nursery to see her daughter one last time. When she got there, the Masons were also there.

"Lorelai, she's beautiful. Thank you for having her. Do you have the letter?" Maria Mason asked, switching her son, Andy, to her other hip.

"It's in my room. If you want, you can come with me to get it," Lorelai answered, looking down.

"I know this is hard for you, but it's best for everyone, especially Rory," Dave said, placing a hand on Lorelai's shoulder, "Why don't we go get the letter and let you get some rest."

Two days later Lorelai watched from outside the nursery as the nurses placed Rory in Maria Mason's arms and she watched as they left with her daughter. She wondered if she would ever see her baby again and if she did, would she recognize her.

* * *

A/N: Please r/r, let me know what you think: Should I continue or not? 


	2. Sweet Sixteen

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize; if I did, do you think I'd be writing fanfiction? I don't own The Cheesecake Factory, Moby Dick or The Lord of the Rings, The Boston Globe, or Boston Latin School, although I did attend school there for 6 years. I only own the Masons and my plot idea…the WB and the creators of "Gilmore Girls" owns everything else.

* * *

_Chapter 1- Sweet Sixteen_

Lorelai Gilmore-Hayden awoke to the cries of her 6 month old daughter, Brooke. She rolled over to see that it was 4:00 in the morning. Groaning, she stood to go to Brooke's room and realized what day it was—October 8. It was Rory's birthday, her 16th birthday. She thought about her oldest daughter, knowing that today the Masons would be giving her the letter and she wondered if Rory would want to get to know her.

Sighing, Lorelai continued to Brooke's room and picked up her crying daughter. Settling down in the rocking chair, Lorelai began to sing to Brooke. It wasn't long before the little girl had fallen back to sleep. Lorelai placed her back in her crib and made her way back to her bed. She curled up next to her husband and quickly fell back asleep.

The next time she woke up her 8 year old daughter, Madison, Maddy for short, came running in to get her parents up.

"Mommy! Daddy! Come on, I need to get to school."

"Maddy, you can walk to school, you know that," Lorelai muttered, rolling over to look at her daughter.

"But Mom, you need to take me to Luke's for breakfast, unless Dad wants to get up and cook."

Lorelai made a face and said, "Fine, give me a moment to get dressed." No matter how hard she tried, Lorelai had still never managed to cook anything without burning it or making a mess somewhere. Chris cooked most of the time, but he could be very cranky early in the morning.

She gave him a quick kiss and told him, "I'm going to take Maddy for food. I'm leaving Brooke with you though."

He muttered something and she took that as an "ok" before getting dressed to leave with Maddy.

The two girls walked the short distance to Luke's and took a seat at the counter. Lorelai called Luke over.

"Hi Luke, we need two coffees and I want pancakes and bacon and whatever this young lady wants, she can have."

"I want 2 eggs sunny side up and a side of toast," Maddy said quietly.

"Lorelai, she's 8! I can't give her coffee," Luke said, looking at the young girl.

"Luke, you say that everyday. And everyday you give in and let her have some. Come on."

Maddy looked at Luke and gave him her best puppy dog eyes and said, "Besides, I'll be 9 in two months."

"Fine, it'll be ready in a few minutes," Luke said, with a sigh.

* * *

After breakfast, Lorelai walked Maddy to Stars Hollow Elementary School and then, called Christopher at home. It was his day to stay home with Brooke, while Lorelai went to work at the Independence Inn, which she was manager of. 

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said into the phone.

"Hi sweetheart, did you get Maddy to school?"

"Yup, is Brooke awake yet?"

"Yes, she is, I'm just about to feed her," Christopher said, fixing Brooke's bottle.

"Ok, I have to go now, I'll be home around 2. Love you!"

"Love you too. Have a good day!"

After having Rory, Lorelai finished high school and then, her and Christopher had both attended college and married soon after. Lorelai had been manager of the Independence Inn for 7 years now, working her way quickly from night manager. Christopher was a independent Insurance Broker and since he worked for himself, he could choose his own hours and even work from home.

When Lorelai got to the Inn, she exchanged some few choice words with the concierge, Michel, before entering the kitchen for some more coffee. She spoke with her best friend, the chef, Sookie and then ventured into her office to take a look at the books.

Later that evening, after picking Maddy up from school and returning home for dinner, Lorelai and Christopher received a phone call that would changed their lives.

* * *

Lorelai Leigh Mason, known also as Rory, hit the off button of her alarm clark before rolling over and standing up. Tiredly, she made her way to the bathroom. When she returned to her room, there was a box on her bed. She picked up the note and read: 

Good Morning Birthday Girl!  
Just a little something from your mother and I to start the day. We hope you like it.  
Love,  
Daddy

When she opened the box, she found a beautiful black skirt that was slightly longer in the back than in the front. There was also a beautiful baby blue peasant shirt. She changed into that outfit and pulled on a pair of black heels. She brushed her hair and left it straight and down. She grabbed her backpack and made her way down to the kitchen, where her family was waiting.

Maria Mason, Rory's mother, was standing at the stove, cooking bacon and eggs, Rory's favorite breakfast. Dave, Rory's father was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the Boston Globe. Andy, her 18 year old brother sat on one side of her father and Abbie, her 14 year old sister sat on the other side. As Rory looked at her family, she once again wondered where she got her looks from.

Her mother had strawberry blonde hair with emerald green eyes. She was just over 5 feet. Her father was almost 6 feet tall with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes. Andy was tall and lean, with their mother's green eyes and very blonde hair. Abbie was still shorter than Rory, but she had been growing very quickly. She had her mother's reddish-blonde hair and green eyes. Rory was very different than all of them. She was 5 foot 7 inches with dark brown hair and striking blue eyes. Once again, though, she dismissed those thoughts, believing she had taken after her grandparents.

"Good morning, my darling daughter!" Dave Mason said, standing to hug Rory, "Happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday!" Maria, Andy and Abbie cried in unison.

"Thank you," Rory answered, smiling at them all.

Maria handed Rory a plate and they all sat back down.

"So, Rory, tonight we're going to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner, is that ok with you?" her mother asked.

"Of course," Rory answered, taking a sip of her coffee, "You know that's my favorite place."

"That's why we chose it! So, do you feel any older?" Andy asked.

"I guess, a little bit, I'm not sure. But, I can go get my learner's permit now!" Rory answered smiling.

"Yes, you can," Dave said, laughing, "I'll take you as soon as I can."

"Ok, Daddy."

After they finished breakfast, Dave drove the kids to the bus stop on the way to work. They met up with Rory's best friend, Laura and they all got on the bus to Boston Latin School, where Rory was a sophomore, Andy, a Senior and Abbie, an eighth-grader.

* * *

When the day was finally over, and the three students returned home, Rory went to her room and took out the book she was currently reading, Moby Dick. She spent the afternoon reading undisturbed, the rest of the family knowing better than to disturb her when she was in the middle of reading. 

At 5:00, Rory got ready for dinner. She curled her hair and applied some make-up, putting back on the outfit her parents had given her that morning. She exited her room, just as her father came in from work.

"Hello, Rory, did you have a good day?" he asked, putting his briefcase on the counter.

"It was good, Daddy. How was yours?"

"It was fine. Let me go get changed and we can leave. Why don't you go get your brother and sister."

With that, Rory took off towards Andy and Abbie's rooms and her father went towards his. Fifteen minutes later, they left for the restaurant. Dinner went well, and when they got back to the house, it was present time.

Andy gave Rory a collector's edition set of The Lord of the Rings and Abbie gave her a matching sapphire bracelet, necklace and earring set that she said would bring out Rory's eyes. Her parents gave her some more books, as well as a journal and two more skirts. Lastly, they gave her two envelopes.

"Rory, please wait and read these when you are alone. Read this one first," Maria said, pointing to the bigger envelope.

Rory saw tears in her mother's eyes, but didn't question her. They all sat around and talked for a little while longer, before Rory excused herself to her room to read her letters.

* * *

Next Chapter: What happens when Rory reads the letters? 

A/N: Please r/r and let me know if I should continue or not…new chapter soon!


	3. The Truth

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize; if I did, do you think I'd be writing fanfiction? I only own the Masons and my plot idea…the WB and the creators of "Gilmore Girls" own everything else.

A/N: Thanks for all your encouraging reviews! I'm really glad you like this story. In response, to a couple of reviews that were left: I'm not quite sure of the pairings totally yet, especially concerning Rory, but for all of you JavaJunkies out there, you'll be happy in the end.

* * *

_Chapter 2: The Truth_

When Rory got back to her room, she sat at her desk and opened the first letter. She unfolded it to find handwriting very similar to her own. It read:

_Dearest Daughter,_

_If you are reading this, you are now 16 and as per our agreement, Maria and Dave have given this to you, so you can learn the truth. I am your biological mother, Lorelai Gilmore. Yes, you are named after me. When you were born, your father and I were only 16 ourselves and we would not have been able to give you the life you deserved. Your father's name is Christopher Hayden and while I cannot tell you if we are still together, I can tell you that both of us have loved you everyday of your life._

_Maria probably has my phone number, as I hope to keep in touch with her. If you want, I would love for you to contact me. Maybe we can get to know each other and I can explain better the circumstances of your birth._

_Your real mother,  
Lorelai Victoria Gilmore_

By the time she finished reading the letter, Rory had tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe her parents had been lying to her all her life. This explained things though, especially why she didn't look like the rest of her family. Tears streaming down her face, she opened the other envelope. There was a post-it note one the letter that read:

_Rory,_

_This is the latest letter I got from Lorelai. I received it two months ago. She wrote to give me her phone number and address. If you would like to speak with her, your father and I will understand. I'm sorry that we never told you about this and I'm sure you're not very pleased with us right now, but please know we love you very much._

_Maria_

Rory opened the letter and picked up the phone, figuring it was not that late to call. She dialed the number from the letter. It rang twice before a young girl answered, "Hello?"

* * *

Lorelai Gilmore-Hayden jumped in surprise when the phone rang. She looked over at Christopher, who just shrugged. Neither was expecting a phone call. Lorelai groaned, thinking that it was her mother. She gave Maddy a nudge, and Maddy reluctantly stood to answer the phone. 

"Hello?" Maddy answered.

"Oh, um, hi…is Lorelai Gilmore there?" Rory asked, unsure of herself.

"May I ask whose calling?" Maddy asked.

"My name is Rory. Please just tell her that."

Maddy put her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone and turned to her mother.

"Mom, there's a girl on the phone. She says her name is Rory," Maddy said with a question in her voice.

Lorelai's breath caught up in her throat and she looked at Christopher, tears of joy formed behind her blue eyes. She took a deep breath before standing to take the phone from her daughter's hand.

"Hello?" Lorelai answered.

"Mommy?" Rory asked tentatively.

"Rory, oh my god, I never thought I would ever hear your voice."

"How could you leave me like that and let me grow up believing that the Masons were my real parents! Why did you abandon me?" Rory screamed, tears streaming down her face.

"Rory, I just wanted to give you the best life you could have. I was only 16; I would not have been a good mother at the time. I'm sorry," Lorelai said, scared at where the conversation was going.

"I'm sorry. I'm just in shock. I can't believe my life has been a lie. This whole thing is ridiculous."

"Rory, I'm sorry. I really just wanted you to be happy and have a good life."

"Mom, can we maybe meet and get to know each other?"

"Well, why don't you come down and spend a weekend here? You can get to know your father and your sisters, too," Lorelai was surprised at the turnaround of the convesation, but let it go, believing that it was a result of her being 16 and finding out such shocking news.

"I guess that would be nice. I can get away this weekend if you'd like," Rory said, biting her lip.

"Well, that would be great. Would you like me to drive and pick you up in the morning?"

"No, I'm sure my brother will be able to drive me tomorrow morning. If you just give me your address."

"Are you sure? It is quite a drive."

"It should be fine, as long as you can drive me home."

"Of course, well, our address is 123 Apple Drive, Stars Hollow, CT it's about 30 minutes south of Hartford."

"OK, I'll be there in the morning. Good night, mom."

"Good night, Rory."

Lorelai hung up the phone and turned took a seat on the couch, facing Christopher, with Maddy in between them.

"She's coming here this weekend, Chris. She wants to meet us," Lorelai said, not believing that the phone conversation just happened.

"I know, Lore, that's amazing."

"Who's coming, Mommy?" Maddy asked, looking at both of her parents.

"Well, Maddy, your sister," Lorelai began.

"But, Brooke's already here," Maddy said, confused.

"Maddy, you have another sister. Her name is Rory. We gave her up for adoption when she was born and now, she's going to come see us here."

"Oh, but why did you let someone adopt her?"

"Well, Maddy, your mother and I were too young to raise her when she was born. Now, it's time for you to go to bed. Let's go get you washed up," Christopher answered for Lorelai, picking Maddy up and carrying her upstairs.

Christopher helped Maddy get ready for bed and left her in bed with a book. After leaving her room, he checked on Brooke, before walking back downstairs to find Lorelai. Together, they watched some television, before going upstairs to bed.

* * *

Rory walked out of her room and walked down the hall to find her parents in the living room. They looked up as she entered. 

She stood in front of them and answered the questions in their eyes. "Mom, Dad, I don't want to talk about _it_ right now, but I wanted to let you know that I am going to Connecticut this weekend to meet my real family. I'll be back Sunday night and we can talk then."

Her mother began to quietly cry, and Dave just nodded slightly, before asking, "How are you getting there?"

"I'm going to ask Andy for a ride in the morning. Lorelai will drive me home," Rory answered, beginning to turn around, when her mother stopped her.

"I'm sorry, Rory. We never meant for it to hurt you."

Rory turned to look at her mother and gave her a forced smile. "I'm sorry too," she said ending the conversation and she walked out of the room.

* * *

Slowly, she climbed the stairs and heard the familiar sound of Andy playing his guitar. She knocked softly, and entered when he told her too. 

"Hey, kiddo, what's up?" Andy asked, looking concerned at the look in Rory's eyes.

"Can you drive me to Connecticut tomorrow morning?" she asked, praying he'd say yes.

"Um, do Mom and Dad know you want to just pack up and leave?" he asked, confused.

"Yeah, they said it was fine. So, can you or not?" Rory said, exasperated.

"I guess. Do you have directions? And how long are you staying? And why are you going?" he asked, still very confused.

"Yes, just this weekend and I'm not ready to talk about it. I want to leave at 7:30 in the morning. Please, be ready," Rory replied, walking out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

When Rory left Andy's room, she felt tears starting to form behind her eyes. They were tears of anger, at her parents, tears of sadness, at realizing she had been living a lie, and tears of joy, knowing that she would finally know the truth. She made her way back to her room and packed her duffel bag. As she was getting into bed, she picked up apicture that sat on her nightstand. It was a family picture that had been taken the summer before when they had visited Florida. She knew now why she didn't look like the rest of her family and why she was so different in so many other ways. She hoped she would find answers in Stars Hollow. 

'Maybe, I can find myself,' she whispered to herself, just before she fell asleep.

* * *

A/N2: Ooooh, so what's going to happen over the weekend? I'll update soon! Let me know what you think! 


	4. Living A Lie

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize; if I did, do you think I'd be writing fanfiction? I only own the Masons and my plot idea…the WB and the creators of "Gilmore Girls" own everything else.

A/N: Thanks for all your encouraging reviews! So you know, the italicized sections are flashbacks.

In answer to a couple of reviewers:

_Elebridith_- It may have seemed like they bonded quickly…but this is going to be quite an interesting weekend.

_Adopted Person_- Personally, no, I don't know what it's like, but my best friend was adopted and has gone through the process of finding her biological parents and she has been helping me with this. That was 3 years ago and now, after a rocky start, she is very close to her biological family and she feels extremely blessed to have two families to go to if she needs anything…so, it may seem right now a little unrealistic, but this is just the beginning. This chapter is going to go a lot more into Rory's thoughts and feelings before we get to some drama at the Hayden House.

* * *

_Chapter 3: Living a Lie_

When Rory awoke the next morning, she stayed in bed for a few minutes longer, wondering if she was making the right choice in going to Connecticut; Did she really want to meet the people who gave her away? They hadn't even wanted her. Sure, they were young, but she was 16 now and she knew if she was to get pregnant, she would never give her baby up.

On the other hand, now that she knew, she realized that she couldn't just do nothing. After all, her parents had lied to her on many occasions about it; she wanted to know the truth. She thought back to the first time she realized she was different from her family.

_5 year old Rory bounced into the living room where her parents were watching television._

"_Momma," she asked, "why do I have blue eyes and dark hair when no one else does?"_

_Her mother glanced at her father, hesitating before answering, "Well, honey, you look exactly like your Grandma Mason," referring to Dave's mother who had died when Rory was just a baby._

"_Ok, can I see some pictures of her?" Rory asked, curiously._

"_Maybe someday when I dig some out," Maria answered._

"_Ok," Rory answered, thinking that it was a logical answer, and she bounced away to find her siblings._

Thinking back now, she realized that her mother had been lying and that's why she had never seen any of those so called pictures. The only pictures they had ever shown her of her Grandma Mason was when she was either very young or after her hair had started getting grey.

Lifting herself off of her bed, she sighed, looking in the mirror. She made her way to the bathroom and took a quick shower. When she returned back to her room, she felt the need to look nice, so she searched through her closet, finally settling on a pink floral skirt that flared out to just below her knees, and a white tank top with a pink sweater that tied on the side.

Making sure she had everything she needed for the weekend, including her homework and a couple of books in case things got very boring, Rory made her way to the living room and found Andy already sitting there.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," Rory hesitated, "let's go."

As they walked to the car, Andy asked, "So, do you want to tell me why you're going to Connecticut now?"

"I'm not ready to talk about it, ok?' Rory answered, getting defensive.

"Fine, whatever you want," he said, a little surprised that his normally level-headed little sister was getting so upset.

Once they put Rory's stuff in the back seat and got in, she pulled a book out of her purse. Andy started the car and put on a PJ Harvey CD, hoping to put his sister in a better mood. She handed him the directions and opened her book.

Instead of reading, she just stared at the same sentence over and over, while she thought back again to her parents' lies.

_In eighth grade, Rory's French class was taking a week long trip to Quebec, Canada. She had begged her parents to go, especially since they had let Andy go just two years before, but her parents wouldn't let her go. She cried, and she treated them badly, which she had done a good job at, and they still wouldn't give in. One night, she thought she overheard her parents talking quietly about a birth certificate and not letting her see it until it was time. _

She had dismissed that discussion at that time, but now she realized why they wouldn't let her go. She needed her birth certificate to get into Canada, and her birth certificate would have had the names of her biological parents. It was almost out of spite, now, that she wanted to go to Connecticut. She knew it would hurt her mother and father, but after knowing the truth, she knew how much they had hurt her over the years. Closing her book, she leaned back in the seat and fell asleep.

* * *

Lorelai woke up at 7:00 the next morning, very early for her. Surprised that Brooke had not woken her up, she crept into her daughter's room to see her still asleep. She walked past Maddy's room quietly and slowly descended the stairs. The first thing she did was to make a pot of coffee. She went next into the guest room that Rory would stay in and she first changed the sheets and then, cleaned up anything she could to make the room look okay.

She walked into the living room and picked up the toys that Brooke and Maddy had left on the floor. She moved Brooke's playpen into the corner and put her swinging chair beside that. After cleaning up the entertainment center and sorting the videos and DVDs, Lorelai went next to the kitchen. By the time she was finished with that it was 8:00 and Christopher was carrying Brooke downstairs. He handed her to Lorelai and started to cook breakfast.

After Lorelai fed Brooke, she gave her a bath and dressed her in a pretty blue dress. She woke Maddy up and put Brooke into her swinging chair. After Maddy finished with her shower and got dressed, she took over watching Brooke, while Lorelai showered and dressed. Christopher finished breakfast and after setting it on the table, took his own shower.

Brooke sat in her highchair while Maddy and Lorelai ate, neither talking much as both were a little nervous. After they finished, Lorelai washed the dishes and Maddy dried. It was 9:15 and Lorelai had no clue when Rory was set to arrive. They went into the living room and Lorelai began to pace. Brooke was in her playpen and both Maddy and Christopher sat on the couch.

After 5 minutes of Lorelai pacing, Christopher broke the silence, "Lorelai, please sit down, you're making me dizzy."

Maddy looked up from her book, and nodded.

"I'm just so nervous! What if she hates us? What if she immediately wants to go back to her other family? I already let her go once, it would break my heart if she walked out now," Lorelai answered, wringing her hands.

"Lore, I understand, but please, we don't know when she'll be here, just take a seat."

Sighing, Lorelai threw herself into the comfortable armchair.

A few minutes later, they heard a car pull up and they all looked towards the door expectantly and sure enough, the doorbell rang.

* * *

A/N: hehe, I'll leave you with that cliffhanger, but not long, I promise! I know this chapter doesn't have a lot of dialogue, but I felt it was important to show what Rory was thinking and all the cleaning and everything that took place in the Hayden house is just setting the scene…so next, they meet!

Please r/r! Thanks!


	5. Arrival

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize; if I did, do you think I'd be writing fanfiction? I only own the Masons and my plot idea…the WB and the creators of "Gilmore Girls" own everything else.

A/N: Thanks for all your encouraging reviews!

* * *

_Chapter 4: Arrival_

Lorelai jumped up and ran to the door. Taking a deep breath, she opened it to find Kirk on the other side.

Groaning, she asked, "What do you want, Kirk?"

"Good Morning, Lorelai, I have a delivery for you, from an Emily Gilmore."

"Thank you, Kirk," she said, holding her hand out.

"Not so fast, what is your last name?"

"Kirk…" she said, in warning.

"It's part of my job, now just answer the question, and I can give this to you quicker."

"Okay, it's Gilmore-Hayden," Lorelai said, sighing.

"Very good, now, just sign here," Kirk said, pointing it at the delivery sheet.

Lorelai quickly signed the sheet and as she handed it, she heard a car pull up in front of the house. Looking up, she watched as a very pretty young girl stepped out of the car and an older boy pulled her bags from the back seat.

"Thank you, Kirk," Lorelai said, pushing him back towards his truck.

"Lorelai, you have visitors!' Kirk said, seeming anxious to meet them.

"Yes, Kirk, now good-bye!"

Kirk slowly walked back to his truck, while keeping an eye on the two strangers, who were now hugging. He drove to Miss Patty's, hoping to spread the gossip.

* * *

Rory stepped out of the car and took in the house in front of her. She looked at the beautiful white house, with the wrap around porch and the beautiful lawn. It reminded of her own house, only hers didn't have a porch.

Andy stepped out from his side and opened the back door. He pulled out Rory's bags and brought them around to her.

"Hey, so, I'm sorry that I upset you earlier. I just hope maybe you'll confide in me about what's going on?" Andy asked.

"Yeah, maybe when I get home," Rory answered looking at the ground.

"Ok, are you going to need a ride home?" he asked.

"No, they'll drive me home. Thanks for the ride here."

"Anytime," he told her, leaning in to hug her.

They hugged for a minute before they broke away. Rory looked back to the house and picked up her bags, noticing the woman standing in the doorway. Her breath caught in her throat; this woman was beautiful with the same dark hair and blue eyes that Rory herself had. She walked towards the house and up the steps.

"Rory?" the woman asked tentatively.

"Yes, are you Lorelai?" Rory questioned keeping her face straight.

"Yes, wow, look at you all grown up! Oh, come in and meet everyone!" Lorelai exclaimed, pushing Rory into the house.

"Um…ok," Rory said, a little scared by how hyper Lorelai seemed.

* * *

Lorelai guided Rory towards the living room. Rory looked at the expectant faces of the rest of her family and realized that she was truly related to them. A man, she figured he was her father, sat on the couch and had short, but curly brown hair with hazel eyes. There was a young girl sitting next to him, probably around 10 with lighter brown, curly hair and the same blue eyes as Rory. In the playpen across the room, a little baby sat with some wisps of brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Ok, so this is your father, Christopher," Lorelai said as Christopher stood, going to hug her, but then thought better of it and instead held his hand to shake hers.

Rory smiled and shook his hand.

"And this is your little sister, Madison," Lorelai continued.

Maddy launched herself into Rory's arms and Rory awkwardly hugged her.

"Everyone calls me Maddy, I'm 8, can we be friends?" she said all in one breath.

Rory giggled, and answered, "Sure," remembering what both her and Abbie had been like at 8.

"And over there is your other sister, Brooke. She's only 6 months old. So, um…let me show you to your room," Lorelai said, before Rory had a chance to breathe. Rory followed Lorelai out of the living room, and into a small room off the kitchen. She walked in to find a queen size bed next to one wall with a small desk looking out the window and a big bookshelf with all of the classics. Sighing contently, she walked over and ran her hands over the spines of the books.

"Do you like to read?" Lorelai asked, watching Rory with interest.

"Yeah, it's my favorite thing to do. I love getting caught up in different stories that talk about different places and different times."

"Well, those are all Maddy's books. They don't all fit in her room. I'm sure she wouldn't mind sharing with you though," Rory smiled and nodded, still looking over the shelves. Lorelai continued, "So…I was thinking that we could decorate this and make it your own room for whenever you come over."

Rory turned around and without thinking asked, "How do you know I'll come back again after this weekend? Why would you even want me?"

Lorelai jumped back at the venom in Rory's voice and tears began to form behind her eyes. "Um, so,I'll let you settle in. We'll be around here somewhere, just find us when you're ready. Maybe we can go to Luke's and get some lunch," she said, before stepping out of the room, and running to the bathroom.

* * *

Rory mentally kicked herself for saying that, even though she knew it was true. She wanted her family, the family that raised her for as long as she could remember, but there was that part of her that believed in that old saying, "blood is thicker than water," and she wanted to get to know these relatives.

Rory unpacked the few things she had brought with her and sat down on her bed, taking out some homework. It took her an hour to finish her Latin and Math homework and then, she slowly left the room to find the bathroom.

* * *

Christopher watched Lorelai run across the hall to the bathroom and he jumped up and ran after her. Knocking, he slowly opened the door to find his wife sitting on the closed toilet seat, her face red and tears streaming down her face.

"Lorelai? What happened?" he asked, tentatively.

"She hates us! She never wants to come back. This was all a really bad idea," Lorelai managed to say through her tears.

"It'll be okay. Once she gets to know us, it'll be different. Come here," Chris asked, trying to pull Lorelai into a hug.

"Just leave me alone, Chris!" Lorelai brushed past Chris and ran up to her room.

Knowing that he shouldn't bother her for a little while, Chris wandered back into the living room to find Maddy playing on the floor with Brooke. Smiling, trying to pretend nothing was wrong, Chris picked up the newspaper and started reading.

* * *

Rory left the bathroom and made her way to the living room. She found Christopher reading the newspaper and Maddy and Brooke playing on the floor.

She quietly stepped into the room and addressed her biological father, "Christopher, I was wondering if we could get some lunch now?"

Chris looked over at her and gave her a small smile. "Sure, we'll just get Lorelai and we'll walk over to Luke's." He turned to Maddy and said, "Honey, can you go get your mother?"

Maddy nodded and handed Brooke to Chris and walked up the stairs. She slowly walked up the stairs, afraid her mother would still be upset. She quietly knocked on her door, and when her mother answered, she walked in to find her mother sewing, something she did when she was upset.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetie, what's up?" Lorelai turned to face her daughter.

"We're all ready to go to lunch, are you?" Maddy asked nervously, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Sure, honey, let's go," Lorelai responded, putting her arm around Maddy and guided her down the stairs.

They entered the living room to find Rory holding Brooke, while Chris attempted to open Brooke's stroller. Once Brooke was settled into her stroller, Rory pulled Lorelai aside.

"Lorelai, I'm sorry. This is just going to take some getting used to."

"Yes, it will, for all of us. Let's just take this one step at a time," Lorelai answered, with a small smile and they walked out to find the rest of the family on the front porch. Slowly they made their way to Luke's.

* * *

A/N: ooooohhh, some drama! Next chapter: What happens at Luke's and what is the Gossip spreading around Stars Hollow? Please R/R! 


	6. Touring Stars Hollow

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize; if I did, do you think I'd be writing fanfiction? I only own the Masons and my plot idea…the WB and the creators of "Gilmore Girls" own everything else.

A/N: Thanks for all your encouraging reviews! Sorry this took so long—I had writer's block for a while and then school has been crazy!

_

* * *

Chapter 5: Touring Stars Hollow _

The small group of 5 made their way to Luke's Diner and when they arrived, they found the small diner packed with the exception of one table by the window. Lorelai found this a bit odd, but Rory just looked around and tried to smile at everyone. Luke nodded at the group as they sat down at that table and waved to let them know he'd be right over.

Rory took a seat between Maddy and Lorelai and Christopher placed Brooke in her high chair on the other side of him. Rory opened up one of the menus and tried to ignore that fact that everyone in the diner was staring at them.

Luke sauntered over, and said, "Good afternoon."

Lorelai just smiled, but Rory answered, "Hello."

This was the first that Luke noticed Rory and he held out his hand to her, "I'm Luke, the owner, and a good friend of Lorelai's."

Rory shook his hand and smiled, "I'm Lorelai's daughter, Rory. Nice to meet you."

The whole diner gasped at this and they all began whispering amongst themselves. Luke looked surprised, but quickly recovered and asked what they would all like to eat. Everyone, but Rory ordered the usual. Rory ordered a bacon double cheeseburger with chili on the side and french fries and a coffee. Luke looked at Rory in disbelief at how much she could eat, but then turned to Lorelai and gave a small smile.

"She really is your daughter," he quipped, before walking back towards the counter.

There was light chit-chat throughout the diner and Lorelai tried to explain to Rory about the first time she found the diner. "It was about 8 years ago, when Maddy was just a little baby and we had lived in Stars Hollow for about a year. I needed my daily dose of caffeine and I was walking by this place and I was surprised I'd never been in, but I ran in and found Luke running around the diner serving everyone and I ran up to him and begged him for coffee. He turned and told me that I had to wait my turn just like everybody else. Of course, I couldn't wait, I was late for work and I needed coffee right then and there. I kept following him around and when he wouldn't give me coffee I asked him for his birthday. After asking a couple of times he finally told me and I pulled out a newspaper and a pen and found the horoscope section and wrote next to the Scorpio section, 'You will meet an annoying woman today. Give her coffee and she'll go away.' Guess what he did next!"

"He, uh, gave you coffee?" Rory asked uncertainly.

"Yup, but, unfortunately for him I didn't go away," Lorelai responded proudly.

"She's been so annoying, but good business, so I don't kick her out," Luke told Rory as he came back to the table with their orders.

As they were eating, it was Patty who was asked to represent the rest of the diner and she approached the table.

"Hello, darling, I'm Miss Patty. I run the local dance studio and I'd like to be the first to welcome you to our lovely town. Have you ever taken dance lessons?"

Rory glanced at Miss Patty and quietly answered, "When I was little, my parents had me in dance lessons for a couple of years, but I never got very good."

"Well, that's a shame, honey, but it's nice to meet you."

"You too Miss Patty, thank you," Rory answered looking at Lorelai.

The rest of lunch went relatively smoothly although there was gossip among the rest of the diner patrons about how Rory could be Lorelai's daughter. One such bit of gossip was that Rory was Lorelai's daughter from another man before Christopher and that she and Chris were on the brink of divorce now that this had been brought forth. Luke tried to make sure that the gossip-mongers did not disturb the rest of his customers.

Finally after Chris paid, the family left the diner and Lorelai offered to give Rory a tour of the town while Chris dropped Maddy off at her piano lesson and took Brooke home for her nap.

* * *

After warning Rory about the gossip of the town and about Taylor's antics, Lorelai took Rory to Kim's Antique's. She figured that maybe Rory would like to meet some one her own age. 

When they entered the store, Mrs. Kim came over saying, "Everything is 20 off this weekend only," but when she saw Lorelai, she stopped.

"Lorelai, how can I help you? Do you need Lane to baby-sit?"

Lorelai smiled at Mrs. Kim before answering, "Actually, Mrs. Kim, not this weekend, but I wanted to introduce someone to you and Lane. This is my daughter, Rory," she said looking over at Rory.

"Lorelai, I know your daughters and this is not one of them. Now what do you really want? I have to get back to work"

Rory tried to hide a giggle at this woman's lack of patience, but Lorelai just sighed.

"Mrs. Kim, really this is my daughter, I had her when I was young and gave her up for adoption. She's here visiting this weekend."

"Oh, well then it's nice to meet you. Here take some pamphlets," she said and she shoved a handful of pamphlets all about the Devil and how to save oneself from evil and to find God. Then, she turned toward the stairs and called, "Lane, come down here."

A young, Korean girl about Rory's age walked down the stairs wearing a black skirt and a conservative brown sweater.

"Yes, Mama," she answered looking at her mother, and then she turned to Lorelai, "Hello, Lorelai."

"Lane, this Lorelai's daughter, Rory."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you," Lane said holding out her hand.

Rory took her hand and smiled, "It's nice to meet you too."

Lorelai asked Mrs. Kim about a set of chairs and they went off to look at them, leaving Rory and Lane alone.

"So, um are you living with Lorelai now?" Lane asked.

"No, I actually live up in Boston with my adopted family. I actually just found out that I was adopted yesterday, but I wanted to come down here and meet my blood family."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lane said, looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"It's ok, everything is just very confusing and I don't ever want to hurt my family in Boston, but I also want to figure out exactly who I am now."

"Ok…what type of music do you like?"

"Well, I'm a big fan of most everything, especially PJ Harvey and anything rock."

"Really? Me too! I want to be in a rock band and play the drums!"

By the time Lorelai came back, the two girls were deep in conversation, but as soon as Mrs. Kim walked up behind her Lane immediately stopped talking and looked at the floor.

"Are you ready to go?" Lorelai asked looking at Rory, who nodded and smiled at Lane before she followed Lorelai out of the store.

* * *

A/N: So what do you think? Please r/r and let me know. I promise to try and update this sooner next time! The next chapter will have a scene between Chris and Lorelai and also one between Lorelai and Luke. We will also see some more of Rory's thoughts about the adoption. 


End file.
